Hank Williams Jr. is the son of Hank Williams, a country music legend. Williams’ younger brother began his career by imitating his father until he developed his own style. He became addicted to drugs and alcohol in the early 1970s and traveled to Alabama to get sober.
He was nearly killed in a mountain climbing accident in Montana in 1975 when snow disintegrated beneath him and he fell nearly 500 feet. He’s rarely been seen without his beard, hat, and sunglasses since then, which he started using to hide his scars.
Williams’ musical career soared in the following decade, with dozens of albums including “Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound,” “Habits Old and New,” “The Pressure Is On,” “Major Moves,” and “Man of Steel.”
Between 1979 and 1992, all 21 of his albums were certified gold, and he recorded 30 singles that reached the top ten. Eight of the songs reached the top of the charts. In 1987 and 1988, he was named Entertainer of the Year by the County Music Association, and from 1987 to 1989, he was named Entertainer of the Year by the Academy of County Music. Between 1964 and 2012, Williams continued to release new music, releasing more than 35 albums.
Net Worth of Hank Williams Jr.
Hank Williams Jr. has a net worth of $45 million as an American country musician. Hank Williams Jr. began his career by performing covers of his father’s classics.
He went on to develop his own style within the country music genre, merging country with rock and blues sounds and utilizing his multi-instrumentalist skills on steel guitar, synthesizers, dobro, banjo, harmonica, fiddle, and other instruments. Williams later got into the issue in 2011 for comparing Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler.
Hank Williams Jr. Early Years
On May 26, 1949, in Shreveport, Louisiana, Hank Williams Jr. was born Randall Hank Williams to Audrey and country music superstar Hank Williams. Following the loss of his father in 1953, he was raised by his mother.
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Williams made his stage debut at the age of eight, singing songs written by his father. He attended John Overton High School in Nashville, Tennessee, as an adolescent, where he sang in the choir and during pep rallies.
Hank Williams Jr. Career
Williams made his first recording in 1964, singing “Long Gone Lonesome Blues,” a tune written by his father. In the same year, he sang on the country duet CD “Connie Francis and Hank Williams Jr. Sing Great Country Favorites” and provided the vocal voice of his father in the historical musical film “Your Cheatin’ Heart.” “Ballads of the Hills and Plains,” “Blues My Name,” “Country Shadows,” “A Time to Sing,” and “Songs My Father Left Me” were among his other albums released in the 1960s.
In the 1970s, Williams began to take a musical direction that would set him apart from his father. He began performing with Toy Caldwell, Charlie Daniels, and Waylon Jennings, among others, in the Southern rock scene. In 1975, Williams released his breakout album, “Hank Williams Jr. & Friends.” The album represented a turning point in Williams’ career, as he switched to his own distinct brand of Southern rock.
Hank Williams Jr. Ajax Peak Accident
Williams’ life was turned upside down in August 1975, when he was nearly murdered in a climbing accident on Montana’s Ajax Peak. When the snow disintegrated beneath him while scaling the peak on the continental divide west of Jackson, he fell nearly 500 feet. Williams suffered severe face and head fractures after landing on rough rock.
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“Living Proof: The Hank Williams Jr. Story,” a 1983 television film, was based on this incident. Williams was severely damaged and spent two years recovering, undergoing numerous reconstructive surgery. To hide his scars, he grew a beard and began wearing sunglasses and a cowboy hat on a regular basis, which became his defining style from then on.
Hank Williams Jr. Career (1980 and 1990)
Williams fought ahead to earn a new name for himself in the country music establishment following his lengthy recovery from the Ajax accident. In the 1980s, he was extremely productive, releasing two albums per year, with hits including “Family Tradition,” “Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound,” “Rowdy,” “High Notes,” “Strong Stuff,” “Major Moves,” “Five-O,” and “Montana Cafe.” Williams has nine albums on the Billboard Top Country Album list at the same time in 1982. He became a country music sensation as a result of his popularity, noted for his catchy melodies and rock-influenced sound.
Williams had 44 top-ten singles on the Billboard Country charts between 1979 and 1990, including eight number-one singles. His song “There’s a Tear in My Beer,” a duet with his father that was constructed utilizing electronic technology that blended recordings of father and son, was one of his most memorable hits in the 1980s.
It also inspired a music video, which mixed Williams Srpre-existing .’s television footage with recordings made by Williams Jr. “A Country Boy Can Survive,” “Old Habits,” “Born to Boogie,” “If the South Woulda Won,” and “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight,” which was renamed “All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night” for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” broadcasts. Williams’ hit albums in the 1990s were “Lone Wolf,” “Pure Hank,” “Maverick,” and “Out of Left Field.”
Hank Williams Jr. Career (2000)
Williams’ albums “The Almeria Club Recordings,” “I’m One of You,” “127 Rose Avenue,” “Old School New Rules,” and “It’s About Time” were released in the 2000s.
With the tune “Red, White & Pink-Slip Blues,” he had a smash on the country charts from “127 Rose Avenue.” Williams also opened for Super Bowl XL in 2006 in the 2000s. He will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2020.
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Hank Williams Jr. Personal Experiences
From a total of five children, Williams has four left; his daughter Katherine died in a car accident in 2020. Holly, Hilary, Sam, and Shelton, who performs as Hank Williams III, are his other children, all of whom have pursued careers in music.
Hank Williams Jr. Controversies
Williams has been a source of controversy for many years, owing in large part to his Republican Party affiliation. In 2011, when he appeared on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” and compared Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler, he received the most outrage. Williams also compared Obama and Vice President Biden to the Three Stooges, referring to them as “the enemy.”
As a result, Williams’ introductory song was temporarily removed from ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” broadcasts. Following that, Williams released a song blasting not only ESPN, but also Fox & Friends and, once again, Barack Obama. When he made racist and inflammatory words about President Obama at the Iowa State Fair in 2012, he doubled down on his bad rhetoric.